That Time My Family Went into Hiding in Someone’s Basement
We thought white supremacists might be plotting an attack on our home
If there was one thing I prioritized in 2021, it was getting away. Every few months, I’d take the money we were saving by not buying or doing much, and I’d find a place to stay that was driving distance, out in nature, and not our house.
Of course, staying somewhere “out in nature” can be dicey for a multiracial family, but that was a risk we were willing to take.
As we were recently recounting fond memories from the trips we’d taken over the previous year, my six-year-old son piped up. “What about our trip to that man’s basement?” he asked.
Last January, nearly a year ago, we had indeed taken a “trip” to a man’s basement. To be clear, it wasn’t some cobwebbed, concrete-floor hovel. With two bedrooms, a bathroom, a large-screen TV, and carpet tiles, it was listed on AirBnb for $75 a night.
The apartment was about a 10-minute drive from our home, purposefully chosen for its proximity. My husband would still be commuting to his job. I would still be driving the kids to childcare in the morning and returning to the apartment to work.
